Modern scanners are intended to shorten waiting times: Equipment at German airports still inadequate

The introduction of modern hand luggage scanners based on computer tomography could help reduce long queues at security gates at German airports. However, these scanners are still in short supply at many locations. The installation of the new devices is progressing slowly before the holiday season, as a request by Der Spiegel to the Federal Police and the Government of Upper Bavaria revealed.

The new scanners are still rare, especially at large airports such as Frankfurt am Main. Of around 170 control lanes, only 34 have been converted to the modern technology. The situation is similar at other locations: Hamburg has only six CT scanners, Hanover has just one, and in Cologne/Bonn the number has shrunk from two to one device.

The modern technology has the advantage that the hand luggage of more than 200 passengers can be scanned per hour, which represents an increase of 40 percent compared to previous capacities. However, Germany is not a leader in the introduction of this technology. The Federal Police had long expressed concerns about the sufficient testing of the scanners.

In other countries such as the Netherlands and Italy, CT scanners have been in use for some time. The Federal Police are planning to equip other airports and control lanes with this technology in the medium and long term. The procedure is being coordinated with the procurement office of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs.

Currently, it is often unclear to passengers in which control lane the modern scanners are installed. However, the Federal Police emphasizes that passengers are informed about the reduced preparatory measures directly at the relevant lanes. In the future, equipping airports with CT scanners could even lead to the liquid restrictions being lifted.

The new scanners are already offering advantages at some of the upgraded checkpoints: passengers can now take larger quantities of liquids with them. The hope is that this development will continue in the long term and that waiting times at the security gates can be significantly reduced.